Takács Quartet + Garrick Ohlsson

Formed in Hungary in 1975, the Takács Quartet has held the position of quartet-in-residence at University of Colorado-Boulder since 1982. Takács boast a Grammy for Best Chamber Music Performance (2003) for recordings of Beethoven's Rasumovsky and Harp quartets, and have released the complete Beethoven string quartets at different points in their discography, which also includes performances of Borodin, Bartók, Hayden, Schubert, among others. For this program, they perform the Mozart String Quartet K575, Shostakovich Quartet No. 11 as well as the Brahms Piano Quintet. Joining them for the Brahms is American pianist Garrick Ohlsson. This Quintet in F minor commands the listener immediately in the first movement with a hooky, sinister theme in unison. Weaving the piece through moody modulations, the theme returns in multiple incarnations by the performers, and haunts the listener even after the captivatingly melancholic fourth and final movement. With a history of collaborations with Takács, Ohlsson also boasts an extensive survey of solo piano works including Chopin's complete piano music and Busoni's Piano Concerto. Ohlsson has released music on a number of labels including RCA's Red Seal, Nonesuch, and EMI. —Emili Earhart